Before Putin meeting, Netanyahu told Russian officials that Israel will not tolerate an Iranian military presence in Syria.
By: World Israel News staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday in Jerusalem with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Alexander Lavrentiev, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin.
According to a statement by Netanyahu’s office, they discussed “regional developments.”
National Security Adviser and National Security Council Director Meir Ben-Shabbat also attended the meeting.
Netanyahu made it clear that Israel will not tolerate a military presence by Iran or its proxies anywhere in Syria and that Syria must strictly abide by the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement.
The meeting took place prior to Netanyahu’s meeting with Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.
During the weekly cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said he will fly to Moscow for an “important meeting” with Putin.
“We meet from time-to-time in order to ensure security coordination and, of course, to discuss regional developments,” Netanyahu said.
At the meeting, he will reiterate the “two basic principles of Israel’s policy: First, we will not tolerate the establishment of a military presence by Iran and its proxies anywhere in Syria – not close to the border and not far away from it. Second, we will demand that Syria, and the Syrian military, strictly uphold the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement.”